: re: Graft Hobbles Iraq’s Military in Fighting ISIS

Syria and Iraq were invented in 1916 by Mark Sykes and George Picot
without regard to cultural cohesion. They were held together by
repressive governments and--like Yugoslavia--fell apart when the fist
was relaxed. If the Iraqi military is the only avenue through which the
U.S. will send arms we shouldn't send a single bullet. We wasted years
and lives propping up an illegitimate puppet government in South
Vietnam. If we are to play any role in the war there, let it be as
arsenal and ally to free Kurdistan, not as an ineffectual puppet master
in Baghdad.Barry Haskell Levine